|
Home
|
Nov 24, 2025
This week’s themeNouning the verb, verbing the noun This week’s words 
“Unlock your next read.”
Previous week’s theme Eponyms 
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargThe other day I came across this sign at the local library: “Unlock your next read.” Does it bother you? If so, you have my understand. But I don’t see any problems with the library’s playful invite. If I had to cavil, I might extend it for the sake of completeness. Since libraries also lend audiobooks and DVDs, why not “Unlock your next read, listen, and watch”? Language works best when we let it breathe -- and play. Tighten your grip too much and, like love, it gasps. Nouning verbs and verbing nouns happen all the time. It’s how we get things done. This week we’ll feature terms that have taken the leap in one direction or the other. What words would you extend? Give it a think and share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). cavil
PRONUNCIATION:
(KAV-uhl)
MEANING:
verb tr., intr.: To raise a trivial or frivolous objection. noun: A trivial or frivolous objection. ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French caviller (to mock or jest), from Latin cavillari (to
jeer), from cavilla (jeering). Earliest documented use: verb: 1548,
noun: 1570.
USAGE:
“Ms Mankiller was not an easy taskmaster. She scolded the people of
Bell until they obeyed her. When the tribal council cavilled about
her disregard for ceremony, she turned off their microphones.” Obituary: Wilma Mankiller; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 24, 2010. “At Disney, [Yuja Wang’s] rendition of Debussy’s L’Isle Joyeuse was brilliant to a fault ... My cavils about the Disney recital pretty much end there, though.” Alex Ross; Thoroughly Modern; The New Yorker; Jun 3, 2024. See more usage examples of cavil in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap
people's brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead. -Arundhati
Roy, writer and activist (b. 24 Nov 1961)
|
|
Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise
© 1994-2025 Wordsmith